An Early Exit
by writing-is-thinking-on-paper
Summary: There was always a buzz amongst coworkers for how strange the two would act in public. How they always left in a rush with a know-it-all smirk plastered across Patricia's face, or how Eddie's confidence seemed to drain from him as they prepared to leave. As to why this happened, nobody could offer up a decent answer to that. Perhaps it would always be a mystery to them.


**A/N: I know I probably should be updating One Day but I hope you don't mind that I've written something else. **

Servers in their finest dress weaved through white linen clothed tables, careful not to drop the contents of their trays onto the floor below. There was a distinctive air of arrogance about this place and Patricia didn't like it one bit. Everyone here knew that Ms. Williamson, or soon to be Mrs. Sweet, didn't do restaurants. However, when Eddie needed to go to a benefit dinner for work, he didn't hesitate to drag her along with him. If he had to suffer through it, so did she. This was the certain logic she was buying into, and only a doofus like him could come up with it.

She would never understand why they couldn't just blow it off, don't go but say they did. With the number of people present it wasn't like they would notice if the two of them never showed. Even more likely, they would never see them make an early exit. She had already considered this, though. Leaving sooner than expected was a definite possibility, how to accomplish it was the real question.

Patricia casually glanced over at Eddie to see how he was faring in all this. He appeared to be wrapped up in conversation with a co-worker, oblivious to her discomfort. She rolled her eyes, it was so typical of him. Although Eddie claimed to hate these sorts of events, deep down she knew he loved them. He lived for the moments where his arrogance wouldn't be frowned upon but rather rewarded. He was confident, charming, and entirely convincing. Three qualities that any good business man should have.

The woman next to her cleared her throat, obviously trying to spark a conversation between them. Patricia offered her a half-hearted smile then turned away. Eddie might have been able to get her to come, but he had no control over the way she acted. Socializing with the other guests was definitely not on her list of priorities.

Soon her mind traveled back to getting Eddie's attention. It wasn't like she could mention leaving in front of everyone, she wasn't _that _desperate. She needed to be subtle yet direct. How the hell was she supposed to do that? Patricia swore softly, just loud enough for the woman next to her to hear. She heard a short gasp from her right but deliberately ignored it. It wasn't like she would ever see these people again. Though with her luck, Eddie would be inviting them over for dinner in a weeks time.

After much thinking, Patricia came to the conclusion that there really was only one way out of this. If she wanted to leave early, Eddie needed to be more than willing to oblige. From years of practice she had learned that only one thing could drag Eddie out of his time in the spotlight. A wicked grin spread across her face as she thought through a more detailed plan.

This could be a lot of fun.

Patricia slowy inched her hand over to his thigh, and soon felt it shiver under her touch.

She watched how his eyes quickly flickered over to hers then focused forward again. She scoffed, realizing he wasn't going to give in so easily.

"Let the games begin." She muttered before sliding her hand up about an inch further.

The results of this round were much different from the last. He inhaled sharply, quirking the eyebrows of everyone at the table. Excluding Patricia, that is. She knew Eddie had good reason to be acting so strangely. It didn't mean she was about to quit though.

Eddie coughed lightly, desperately trying to regain his composure. He made a show of turning his head away from her as if she say she couldn't captivate his attention. She found herself smirking at this. The way her plan was laid out, that was sure to change.

This time she slid her hand up even further and gave it an extra squeeze for good measure. That had most definitely gotten a rise out of him.

"Alright," he said shakily before swallowing hard, "I think we should get going soon." He stood up quickly, shaking her hand off, before turning to glare at his fiance who now wore a victorious grin across her face.

"Whenever you're ready, _Edison_." She took a step closer to him, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder like any soon-to-be-wife should. When it was clear no one else was looking she gave him her signature smirk, with every intention of rubbing in her success.

"Don't think I didn't know what was going on back there, Yacker." Eddie warned her as they made their way across the room and over to the door.

"What was going on back there? I thought you never lost your cool, Krueger." Patricia smiled at his irritation, sooner or later he would have to admit defeat.

Eddie rolled his eyes, whatever argument she had prepared wouldn't cut it.

"You know, it's hard to keep your cool when someone starts feeling you up." He gave her an accusing stare, she was the one responsible for this.

"I guess we won't be doing any of that later then" She replied, seemingly unconcerned, then took a stride forward leaving Eddie behind. She could hear the stream of whispered curses coming out of his mouth and soon felt his hand tugging at her wrist.

"Where do you think you're going, Yacker?" He turned her around to face him, the mischevious glint retuning to his eyes. "You can't get me all worked up for _nothing_."

Patricia shrugged coyly, loving every minute he was held in suspense.

"I guess we could figure something out." She said at last, then turned on her heel to continue her way out the door. Eddie eagerly followed behind, seemingly in a rush to get home.

They both knew what was bound to happen there.

Back at the table the remaining guests quietly exchanged accounts of the young couple that night. This wasn't the first time something like this happened. There was always a buzz amongst coworkers for how strange the two would act in public. How they always left in a rush with a know-it-all smirk plastered across Patricia's face, or how Eddie's confidence seemed to drain from him as they prepared to leave. As to why this happened, nobody could offer up a decent answer to that. Perhaps it would always be a mystery to them. For that, Patricia and Eddie were grateful.

Everyone knew they left dinner parties early, but most couldn't guess as to why.

**A/N: This is the outcome of massive writer's block on chapter 5 of _One Day_. If you are willing to contribute any ideas for it that'd be awesome! Remember to review this story while you're at it. My birthday was yesterday so it'd be a great present :) Thanks for reading! **


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